Why Fonterra accepted defeat in the dairy aisle
OPINION: Fonterra's sale of its consumer dairy business to Lactalis is a clear sign of the co-operative’s failure to compete in the branded consumer market.
Fonterra is closing a milk powder blending and packaging site in Hamilton, a move that will affect 120 jobs.
The co-operative says the closure of the Canpac site follows its decision to focus on higher value ingredients such as advanced proteins and medical nutrition.
The plant currently packs up to 4,000 metric ton of powders per year, less than 1% of the co-op's total product volume.
Fonterra's chief operating officer Anna Palairet says the co-op is committed to supporting the impacted employees.
The co-op is working through a consultation process, including exploring potential redeployment opportunities before operations are planned to come to an end on July 31.
Palairet says low product volumes and increasing complexities in production has created challenging economic conditions for the facility.
"It's been a tough day for all the team at the site. Making decisions like this is never easy.
"Our strategy is about creating end-to-end value and growing total returns for our farmer shareholders.
"We believe the best way to achieve this is to focus on our strengths and scale in ingredients and foodservice, and we are prioritising our investment on the parts of our operations that are better suited to this."
An independent report, prepared for Alliance farmer shareholders is backing the proposed $250 million joint venture investment by Irish company Dawn Meats Group.
Whangarei field service technician, Bryce Dickson has cemented his place in John Deere’s history, becoming the first ever person to win an award for the third time at the annual Australian and New Zealand Technician of the Year Awards, announced at a gala dinner in Brisbane last night.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
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